A good night’s sleep is always welcome, especially when you’re away from home. If you struggle to sleep well out of your own bed, then read on for our sleep travel tips!
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Sleep Travel Tips for Sleeping Like a Baby in Your Hotel Room
You’re away on holiday – maybe you need loads of energy for stomping around a city, or you just want to properly rest on a nice beach escape.
But a new environment can make it harder to sleep. Anything from a different mattress and pillows to unfamiliar noises and different temperatures can throw things off.
Our top tips for sleeping like a baby in your hotel room will help you find it easier to get comfy and drift off for a good night’s sleep.
1. Sleep in total darkness
Generally speaking, the darker it is then the easier it is to sleep, so the first step is to make the room as dark as you can.
First of all, remember to shut the curtains or blinds on all the windows. It sounds obvious, but if you arrive in the evening tired and collapse into bed, it’s easy to forget. Or you might not have spotted that bathroom window, which is going to have bright sunlight streaming through it by 5am!
Chuck a few clothes pegs into your bag – they’re great for keeping the edges of curtains together. If you don’t have anything like that, pull the curtains till they overlap, and push your suitcase or a chair up against them to keep them in place.
And if there’s a gap under the door letting in light from the corridor, roll up a bathroom towel to block it out.
2. Use an eyemask
In a hotel room there can be lots of little things affecting how you sleep. So something as simple as an eye mask can block out any remaining light and just make all those other inconsistencies a bit easier to deal with.
If you’re sharing your room, an eye mask can also help keep you asleep when your roommate wakes up to pee and triggers the dreaded motion-sensor bathroom light (why are they always brighter than the sun?!).
There are loads of eye mask options out there, from bougie scented silk ones to contoured sleep masks that are moulded with space for your eyelashes.
And eye masks aren’t just for blocking out light – having something resting on your eyelids can feel really soothing too.
I actually really like the flimsy free eye masks you get given on long haul flights. I don’t like anything tight around my head so I find these are perfect!
3. Bring ear plugs
Small but mighty, ear plugs are great for blocking out noise. Go basic with some squishy foam ones, or splash out on something more fancy.
Some brands like Loop make earplugs that are specifically for sleeping (they’re comfortable to wear when you’re sleeping on your side, for example). They even have multipurpose ones that have different modes to choose from.
4. Use white noise
It’s not just for babies you know!
White noise can provide a consistent level of sound and drown out all sorts of things – noisy neighbours, heavy footsteps, that annoying hum from the fridge and even those early morning shrieks of joy from the pool.
If you think you don’t like white noise, there are actually several types – like brown and pink – that have different volume levels and frequencies. Or you could play rainfall or ocean sounds – whatever relaxes you and masks the noise from your surroundings.
Look up a playlist or podcast (they tend to be much longer, i.e. 8 hours) on an app like Spotify or YouTube.
5. Order off the pillow menu
Some hotels have a pillow menu, so guests can choose the type of pillow that they like – things like how hard or soft the pillow is, and whether you want foam or feather.
But even if your hotel doesn’t officially have a pillow menu, don’t suffer in silence if their pillows are causing you grief. Ask reception or housekeeping if they have extras or other options – or even things like extra blankets if your bed isn’t how you like it.
The hotel might not put these in your room as standard, but they usually have a stash of them somewhere. You might even find them in the room already – check on top of the wardrobe and under the bed.
6. Increase the aircon temperature before bed
A classic error is waking up in the night feeling chilly, especially if you’re on a trip somewhere hot and your body has been heating up all day.
When you go to bed, bump the aircon up by a couple of degrees before you switch off the light. Your body temperature will natural cool down over night and this will stop you waking up because of it.
7. Bring a tape or stickers to cover LEDs
Something that can be really annoying in a hotel room is all the little lights from the appliances. Especially as things like the TV and even the fridge often face towards the bed.
Bring a small roll of tape or some stickers with you, and cover over these lights so you can snooze away in total darkness.
You can get cheap washi tape from craft shops that does the job, or try something a bit more heavy duty from Amazon. Otherwise those little dot stickers from stationery shops are an easy fix – or as a last resort you could use a plaster!
8. Bring a pillow case from home
If sleeping in an unfamiliar environment is what you struggle with, then bring a pillowcase from home.
It will take up pretty much zero luggage space, and the familiar texture and the smell of your laundry powder will remind you of your own bed. It’s a small thing but it can be really comforting, making it easier to drift off to sleep.
